Best Smart Benches

You're strolling around town and your mobile device is running low on battery? You are lost in a new city and could use a direction? Free charging and internet hotspot would solve everything, right? Take a look at some of the competitors in this competition and see if some of their solutions could help you out in situations like these.

Easily installable and movable urban furniture powered by solar energy, capable of charging your mobile devices, giving you information about the environment, local events and even free emergency phone call. Developed by Belgrade-based firm, this smart bench is slowly becoming a staple in the industry.

This solar-powered smart bench offers charging of up to four devices, as well as giving insight about the environment using integrated sensors for air temperature, pressure, humidity and UV levels. It is currently being produced and developed in Dubrovnik by a local, young startup. They hope to make their bench even smarter with new versions coming along.

Ecological Solar Charger is a smart bench company that is located in Norway. Their smart benches are bringing more value to a modern and mobile generation. With a focus on making cities more comfortable to live in, they are one of the leading companies in the industry.

Smart Palm is a self-sustainable device recharge station, info point, and free WiFi access station. Soaking up the huge amounts of sunlight during the day, these trees store the energy and discharge it back in the evening. On each tree, there are eight charging points and WiFi ranges up to 100 metres in any direction, as well as a 360 degrees infrared CCTV camera, touch screens with city information and digital outdoor screens.

Soofa is a solar-powered urban seating, capable of charging two smart phones at a time and collecting air quality and other environmental data. Users are also allowed to interact with nearby ‘social lights’, shifting their colours based on the use of the seats. Developed at MIT Media Lab, these benches were first launched in Boston, and later on in eight States.

Isabelo is Africa’s first entirely solar powered public bench with free WiFi, offering mobile phone charging and relaxed seating. Product name is derived from the Zulu word “to share” and the idea is all about sharing: Sharing a seat, sharing a public space, sharing content online. This street furniture is quickly becoming the area’s trendiest meeting place.